Printing machine



Nov. 13, 1934. E. c. HARTLEY 1,930,725

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 22, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 13, 1934. E.c. HARTLEY 1,930,725

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 22, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 13, 1934. 1-;c, HARTLEY L980,725

PRINTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 22, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Nov. 13,1934 rnm'rmc momma Emmett C. Hartley, Oak Park, Ill., assignor toAddressograph Company, Wilmington, DeL, a corporation of DelawareApplication December 22, 1930, Serial No. 503,915

23 Claims. (01. 101-287) This invention relates to printing machines andmore particularly to devices for feeding and ejecting work in the natureof sheets, envelopes, cards, circulars, or the like, and the salientobject is to provide a novel device which will feed but one piece ofwork at a time.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a feeding deviceoperable in timed relation with the printing machine; to provide afeeding device embodying a feeding member operable at a higher rate ofspeed than the printing mechanism of the machine; to provide a feedingdevice controllable by said printing mechanism; to provide a feedingdevice embodying an adjustable separator to insure the feeding of butone piece of work into the machine; to provide a feeding device whichwill also withdraw the work after an impression has been made thereon;to provide a feeding device including a safety mech anism for renderingthe machine inoperative when the feeding device does not feed a piece ofwork; to provide a feeding device which will properly index the workrelative to the printing mechanism; and to provide an abutment for thework which will prevent rebounding thereof away from the printingmechanism when the work is fed thereto.

In the selected embodiment of the invention illustrated in theaccompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a printing machinewith which a selected embodiment of my invention has been associated;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the feeding device drawn to an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 on Fig.2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 on Fig.2;

Fig. 5 is a view taken substantially on the line 55 on Fig. 2;

Fig. '6 is a transverse sectional view taken medially on Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 7--7 on Fig.2;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 8-8 on Fig.'7; and

Fig. 9 is a detail view of the separator employed in the device.

In the accompanying drawings, 10 generally indicates a printing machineincluding a magazine M into which suitable printing devices areintroduced and from which these printing devices are withdrawn andsuccessively passed through printing position in the machine below theplaten P carried by the arm 11. A machine of this character isdescribedand claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 503,914, filedDecember 22, 1930, and reference may be made thereto for the details ofconstruction relative to the means for withdrawing the printing devicesand for operating the platen. The printing machine includes a table top12 on which the printing operations are performed and in this table topare openings 13- through which the printing devices may be viewed duringpassage thereof into printing position. In the table top, tappedopeningsare provided into which the thumb screws 14 may be fitted to detachablysecure the frame 15 of the feeding device on the machine. At one end ofthe frame 15 is a hous- 7 ing 16 (Figs. 2 and 3) providing a bearing 17in which a shaft 18 is journaled and fixed on the shaft within thehousing is a gear 19 meshing with an idler gear 20 carried by the stubshaft 21 journaled in the housing. The idler gear meshes with a drivinggear 22 in the machine which, in turn, meshes with a gear behind themain clutch so that movement will'be imparted to the gear 22 only whenthe machine is operating. Also mounted on the stub shaft-21 and operablewith the idler gear is a pinion 23 meshing with a pinion 24 on the endof the shaft 25 journaled in the frame 15. A pinion 26 meshes with thegear 19 and is fast on a shaft 2'7 journaled in the frame 15. Thereforewhen movement is imparted to the gear 22 the shafts 18, 25, and 27 willbe operated simultaneously. The feed roller 28 is rotatably mounted onthe shaft 18 (Fig. 7) and the periphery thereof is recessed at 29 and atopposite ends of the recess inwardly thereof and communicating therewithare openings 30 and 31 (Fig. 8). A blanket 32 of rubber or similarinnately resilient material includes enlarged end portions 33 and 34which are respectively passed into the openings 30 and 31 to therebysecure the blanket 32 in the recessed portion 29 whereby the knurled orotherwise roughened surface 35 of the blanket will be disposed slightlyabove the periphery of the feed roller. A collar 36, secured to theshaft 18 by a set screw 3'1 (Fig. 7) or other suitable securing device,has a ratchet 38 formed in the periphery thereof, and pivotally mountedon the feed roller at 39 is a pawl 40 normally urged toward the ratchetby a spring 41 extended between a spring anchor at the outer end of thepawl and a spring anchor on the roller 28. The. roller is held againstlongitudinal movement on the shaft 18 in a manner to be described. A camring 43 (Fig. 7) is clamped between the plate 42 and the roller 28 to berotatable with said roller. Pivotally mounted on the frame 15 at 44 is alatch 45 (Figs. 5 and 6) normally urged toward the pawl 40 by a spring46 extended between a spring anchor on the latch 45 and a spring anchoron the frame 15. On the tail of the pawl 40 is a finger 47 engageablewith a radial edge on the abutment 48 on the latch 45. Secured to thelatch 45 is a plate 49 having a foot portion 50 thereon. 0n the forwardend of the platen arm 11 there is a boss 51 in which a screw 52 isadjustably mounted and when the platen P is moved into printingposition, as shown in Fig. 6, the screw 52 engages the foot portion andpivots the latch from the position illustrated in full lines in Fig. 6into the dotted-line position of said figure whereby the abutment 48 isretracted from engagement with the flnger 47 and therefore the spring 41moves the pawl into engagement with the ratchet to thereby interconnectthe roller 28 to the shaft 18. As soon as the platen P starts to moveupwardly after making the printing impression the screw 52 disengagesthe foot portion 50 and the spring 46 moves the latch back into thefull-line position of Fig. 5 whereby the abutment will be disposed inposition to engage the finger to withdraw the pawl from engagement withthe ratchet and therefore the roller 28 will make but one revolutionupon each operation of the platen P especially since the platen isalways moved back into its upper or normal position in each cycle ofoperation thereof. The latch 45 is relieved by providing the notch 53 toprevent premature engagement of the latch with the pawl in event 'theplaten P is withdrawn prior to the time the pawl has moved sufficientlyto clear the latch. Since the screw 52 is adjustable it is manifest thatthe time of operation of the roller 28 may be regulated. Supported byframe 15 at an inclination to the horizontal table top is a plate 54onto which the work is introduced. Along one edge of this plate arebearings 55, 55 (Fig. 2) through which rods 56, 56 are extended, saidrods being connected to a guiding flange 57. A set screw 58 is extendedthrough one of the bearings 55 to secure the rod therein and byloosening this set screw the rods and the guiding flange may be movedtransversely of the plate. On the opposite edge of the plate arebearings 59, 59 through which rods 60, 60 are extended and a set screw61 secures one of the rods in position. The rods 60, 60 are connected toa guiding flange 62 similar to the guiding flange 57, and these guidingflanges are positioned to receive the work therebetween and orient thesame relative to the platen P so that the printing impressions will bemade at a predetermined longitudinal position on the work which isrested on the plate between the guide flanges at an angular inclinationas illustrated in Fig. 6 wherein the work is indicated by W. On theframe 15 is a bracket 63 (Fig. 9) to which one end of the separator 64is secured. The separator is made from innately resilient material suchas rubber and it will therefore readily flex so that the free endthereof may be tangentially disposed relative to the roller 28 and, asclearly illustrated in Fig. 9, the lower end of the plate 54 isterminated in spaced relation to the roller to provide clearance for theseparator. In order to adjust the tension of the separator 64 and affordthe proper tangential disposition thereof, a screw 65 is extendedthrough the frame 15 and abuts the lower edge of the separator to varythe curvature therein and this screw 65 is held in adjusted position bythe lock nut 66. The coefficient of friction between the pieces of workwill be relatively low, while the coefficient of friction between thework and the blanket 32 and the separator 64 will be relatively high.The lower edges of the forwardmost of the pieces of work rest on theseparator 64 and the most forwardly of these pieces of work will beengaged by the blanket 32, upon rotation of the roller 28, and thereforedue to the high coefficient of friction between the work and the blanketand separator, this piece of work will be moved with the roller and byreason of the low coefficient of friction between this piece of work andthe adjacent piece of work, only the piece of work gripped will be fed.The piece of work thus fed moves into engagement with the clampingroller 67 mounted on the shaft 27 and disposed slightly forwardly of theend of the separator, and this clamping roller cooperates with theroller 28 to feed the sheet forwardly. Secured to the under side of thecasting 15 is a plate 12 which, in the portion thereof aligned with theroller 28, is dished downwardly as indicated at 68. Mounted on the shaft25 adjacent the forward edge of the plate 12 in the dished portion 68thereof are the jogger rollers 68', and the piece of work fed forwardlybetween rollers 28 and 67 will pass between the plate 12 and the rollers68' to be fed into printing position in the machine. In order toposition the sheet relative to the printing mechanism a stop strip isprovided which is mounted on the table top 12. Secured to the table topis a strip 69 (Fig. 1) having a bearing 70 at one end thereof. A bearing71 is fixed on the table top. A rod 72 is extended through the bearing70 and a rod 73 is extended through the bearing 72 and set screws areprovided for holding said rods in adjusted positions in said bearings.The forward ends of the rods are connected to the stop strip 74 and byvarying' the position of the rods 72 and 73 the position of the stopstrip may be adjusted to determine the transverse position of the pieceof work relative to the printing means in the machine. It has beendescribed that the feed roller 28 is operated only when the platen Pmoves into printing position and it therefore operates in timed relationwith the printing mechanism in the machine. However, since the roller isclutch operated and as this clutch is only engaged at determined timesit is not necessary that the operation of the roller be synchronizedwith the operation of the platen, and I am thereby enabled to operatethe roller at a higher rate of speed than the platen operation. By sodoing I am enabled to quickly feed the pieces of work into printingposition in the machine. Because of the rapid feeding of the pieces ofwork they have a rather high momentum as they move into printingposition in the machine and the stop strip 74 is so disposed that thepieces of work so moving strike thereagainst to be properly positioned.Due to the high momentum of the pieces of work there will be a tendencyto rebound when stopped by strip 74 but the forward edge of the dishedportion 68 is so positioned that when the forwardmost edge of the pieceof work engages the stop strip, the rearwardmost edge thereof will fallpast this forward edge onto the table top and when the forwardmost edgeof the piece of work strikes the strip it will be prevented from beingdisplaced from the table top 12 as the high momentum will be absorbed byreason of the inclination of the abutting face '15 of the strip '74.This face is inclined downwardly and when the pieces of work strikethereagainst they will follow along this inclined face rather thanrebounding away from printing position. Since the pieces of work aresuccessively fed into printing position upon each operation of theplaten P, it is necessary that a previously fed piece of work be removedprior to the introduction of anew piece of work into printing position.Furthermore, it is desirable that the work-withdrawing and workfeedingmeans be so timed that a new piece of work will not be fed into themachine until the previously fed piece .has been withdrawn therefrom. Itherefore provide a rocker 76 (Fig. 4) pivotally mounted on the shaft 25and on this rocker is a lug 7'1 carrying a sleeve '78 in which a shaft79 is journaled. On one end of this shaft 79 there is a roller 80 havinga ring of resilient material, such as rubber, on the periphery thereof.At the opposite end of the shaft 79 is a bevel gear 82 meshing with abevel gear 83 on the shaft 25, these gears serving to rotate the roller80. At the end of the rocker 76, opposite the lug 7'7, there is a roller84 held in engagement by a spring with the periphery of the cam 85rotatably mounted on the shaft 18. The cam 85 is mounted on the reducedportion 86 of the collar 87 having an ear 88 thereon through which thescrew 89 is extended, said screw being fixed in the roller 28. Thecollar 87 is disposed on one side of the collar 36 and the roller 28 isdisposed on the other side thereof and thus by properly positioning thescrew 89 this collar and roller may be neatly fitted in position and beheld against displacement. When the parts are in at rest position theblanket 32 is disposed in an uppermost position as illustrated in Fig. 2and during the time the blanket is moving from this position to theposition wherein it will engage the forwardmost piece of work on theplate 54, the roller 84 will move from the rise on the cam 85 into thedwell or depression therein to thereby lower the roller 80 so that theresilient ring 81 will engage the previously fed piece of work. Theroller 80 operates at right angles to the line of movement of thearticles fed into printing position and the work withdrawn from printingposition therefore passes into a collector C mounted at the side of themachine as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1. As soon as the new piece ofwork starts to move into printing position the rise on the cam 85 willengage the roller 84 and elevate the roller 80 which will be held inthis elevated position until a time immediately after the beginning ofmovement of the roller 28 on the next operation of the feeding device.It has been pointed out that the cam ring 43 is adjustably clamped tothe roller 28 and in the periphery of this cam ring there is a slot 43'which may be moved into desired positions relative to the blanket 32 onthe roller 28. A lever 90 is medially mounted on the bracket 91 carriedby the frame 15 and includes a nose 93 aligned with the ring 48 andurged theretoward by a spring 94. When pieces of work are properly fed,the nose 93 is held from engagement with the ring 43 by said pieces ofwork but in the event no piece of work is fed the nose 93 will pass intothe recess 43' in the periphery of the ring 43 when said recess movesinto alignment with said nose and therefore the lever 90 will pivotwhereby the block of insulating material 95 thereon will engage thespring contact 98 and urge it into engagement with the stationarycontact 97 to thereby close an electric circuit. A I relay is providedin the machine which is energized by the above closing of the electriccircuit and, as described in my previously referred to co-pendingapplication, the energizing of this relay will interrupt operation ofthe machine.

I have provided a work-feeding device for printing machines embodying afeed roller that may be operated at a higher rate of speed than theoperation of the printing machine to thereby permit rapid feeding of thework into the machine, and further I have provided a novel stop for 10-cating the work in the machine which will prevent rebounding of the workabutted thereagainst. Moreover, the device is so arranged that if nopiece of work is fed the operation of the printing machine will beinterrupted; Furthermore, the device includes a withdrawing means whichwill serve to withdraw the work and pass the same into a collector priorto the feeding of another piece of work into the machine. In addition, Ihave provided a clutch operated feed roller that is controlled by theprinting mechanism on the machine so that the roller is operated onlywhen the printing mechanism is operative. Further, it is manifest thatthe device so operates that the feeding device will be renderedoperative to feed a piece of work on one operation of the printingmechanism which will be acted on by the succeeding printing operation ofsaid printing mechanism.

While I have illustrated and described a selected embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variation andmodication and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precisedetails set forth but desire to avail myself of such changes andalterations as fall within the purview of the following claims:

I claim:

1. In combination with a printing machine incuding driving means and anintermittently operated printing mechanism, a work feeding deviceincluding a part operated with the driving means, a work feeding member,means for connecting the work feeding member to said part, means forholding said connecting means in disengaged position, and meanscontrolled by said printing mechanism for retracting said holding meansto permit operation of said feeding mem-- her.

2. In combination with a printing machine including an intermittentlyoperated printing mechanism, a work feeding device including a memberfor feeding pieces .of work to said machine, a shaft in said device foroperating the feeding member, a ratchet on the shaft, a pawl on thefeeding member, means for holding said pawl out of engagement with saidratchet, and means controlled in disengaged position, means controlledby said printing mechanism for retracting said holding means to permitoperation of said feeding member with the operating means therefor, andmeans for positioning said holding means to disconnect the feedingmember from the operating means after a complete cycle of operation ofthe feeding member.

4. In combination with a printing machine including driving means and anintermittently operated printing mechanism, a work feeding deviceincluding a member for feeding work to said machine, a shaft in saiddevice for operating said feeding member and driven by said drivingmeans, a ratchet on said shaft, a pawl on said feeding member, means forholding said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet, means controlledby said printing mechanism for retracting said holding means to permitconnection of said pawl with said ratchet to effect operation of thefeeding member, and means for positioning said holding means todisconnect the feeding memberfrom the shaft after a complete cycle ofoperation of the feeding member.

5. In combination with a printing machine including a platen, means forfeeding work to said machine, operating means for said feeding means,means for connecting said feeding means to said operating means, meansholding said connecting means in disengaged position, and means carriedby said platen for retracting said holding means.

6. In combination with a printing machine including driving means and aplaten, a device for feeding work to said machine and including afeeding roller, a shaft for operating said roller and driven by saiddriving means, normally disengaged means for connecting said rollertosaid shaft, and means operated by said platen for engaging saidnormally disengaged means to effect operation of the roller with saidshaft.

7. In combination with a printing machine including driving means and aplaten, a device for feeding work to said machine and including afeeding roller, a shaft operated with said driving means for rotatingsaid feeding roller, means for connecting said roller to said shaft,means for holding the connecting means in disengaged position, yieldablemeans for maintaining said holding means in holding position, and meanson said platen and operable against the yielding means to retract theholding means to effect connection of the roller with the shaft.

8. In combination with a printing machine including a platen, means forfeeding work to said machine including a feeding roller, means operablewith said machine for operating said feeding roller, means controlled bysaid platen for connecting said feeding roller to said operating means,and means engaging said roller for separating the pieces of work to befed by said feeding roller whereby but one piece of work will be'fedupon each operation of said feeding roller.

9. In combination with a printing machine including a platen, means forfeeding work to said machine including a feeding roller, means operablewith said machine for operating said feeding roller, means controlled bysaid platen for connecting said feeding roller to said operating means,means engaging said roller for separating the pieces of work to be fedby said feeding roller whereby but one piece of work will be fed uponeach operation of said feeding roller, and a clamping roller cooperatingwith said feeding roller to hold the piece of work being fed inengagement therewith.

10. In combination with a printing machine including a platen, means forfeeding work to said machine including a feeding roller, means operablewith said machine for operating said feeding roller, means controlled bysaid platen for connecting said feeding roller to said operating means,means engaging said roller for separating the pieces of work to be fedby said'feeding roller whereby but one piece of work 'will be fed uponeach operation of said feeding roller, and additional means for feedingthe piece of work into printing position in the machine.

11. In combination with a printing machine including an intermittentlyoperated platen, means for feeding work to said machine including afeeding roller, means operable with said machine for operating saidfeeding roller, means controlled by said platen for connecting saidfeeding roller to said operating means, means engaging said roller forseparating the pieces of work to be fed by said feeding roller wherebybut one piece of work will be fed upon each operation of said feedingroller, a clamping roller cooperating with said feeding roller to holdthe piece of work being fed in engagement therewith, and means forfeeding the piece of work into printing position in the machine afterpassage thereof between said feeding and clamping rollers.

12. In combination with a printing machine including a printingmechanism, a device including means for feeding work to said printingmachine and including means for withdrawing said work after receiving animpression from said printing mechanism and operable at right angles tothe line of movement of said pieces of work when fed into said machine,and means for detachably mounting said device on said printing machine.

13. In combination with a printing machine including an mechanism, adevice including means for feeding work into said machine and means forwithdrawing the work from said machine after reintermittently operatedprintingceiving an impression from said printing mechanism, means onsaid device for controlling the operation of said feeding andwithdrawing means operable by said printing mechanism, and means fordetachably mounting said device on said printing machine.

14. In combination with a printing machine including an intermittentlyoperated printing mechanism, means for feeding work to the machine,means for withdrawing work from the machine after receiving a printingimpression from said printing mechanism, common means for operating saidfeeding and said withdrawing means, and meanscontrolled by said printingmechanism for connecting said feeding and withdrawing means to saidoperating means.

15. In combination with a printing machine including driving means and aplaten, a device for feeding work to said machine and including afeeding roller having feeding means on but a portion of the peripherythereof, a shaft for operating said roller and driven by said drivingmeans, normally disengaged means for connecting said roller to saidshaft for rotation therewith, and means operated by said platen forengaging said normally disengaged means to effect rotation of the rollerwith the shaft whereby the feeding means on the periphery of said rollermay move a piece of work into the machine.

16. In combination with a printing machine including driving means and aplaten, a device for feeding work to said machine and including afeeding roller having feeding means on but a portion of the peripherythereof, a shaft for operating said roller and driven by said drivingmeans, normally disengaged means for connecting said roller to saidshaft for rotation therewith, means operated by said platen in eachcycle of operation thereof for engaging said normally disengaged meansto effect rotation of the roller with the shaft whereby the feedingmeans on the periphery of said roller may move a piece of work into themachine, and means for moving said normally disengaged means intodisengaged position subsequent to each printing operation of the platenin each cycle of operation thereof whereby the feeding means on theperiphery of said roller feeds but a single piece of work upon eachconnection of the feeding roller with the shaft.

17. In combination with a printing machine including an intermittentlyoperated printing mechanism, means for feeding sheets and the like tothe printing mechanism and including a-constantly operating drive shaft,a sheet feeding roller mounted on said drive shaft, a pawl on said feedroller, a ratchet on said shaft, means urging said pawl toward saidratchet, means holding said pawl disengaged from said ratchet andincluding an engageable portion, and means on the intermittentlyoperable printing mechanism adapted for contact with said engageableportion to retract said holding means whereby said pawl may move intoengagement with said ratchet to connect said feed roller to said driveshaft.

18. In combination with a printing machine including an intermittentlyoperated printing mechanism, means for feeding sheets and the like tothe printingmechanism and including a constantly operating drive shaft,9. sheet feeding roller mounted on said drive shaft, a pawl on toretract said holding means whereby said pawl 19. In combination with aprinting machine including an intermittently operated printingmechanism, means for feeding sheets and the like to the printingmechanism and including a constantly operating drive shaft, a sheetfeeding roller mounted on said drive shaft, a pawl on said feed roller,a ratchet on said shaft, means urging said pawl toward said ratchet,means holding said pawl disengaged from said ratchet and including anengageable portion, means on the intermittently operable printingmechanism adapted forcontact with said engageable portion to retractsaid holding means whereby said pawl may move into engagement with saidratchet to connect said feed roller to said drive shaft, said 7 meansincluding another shaft, rollers mounted drawing sheets after operationthereon b the on said shaft, and means connecting the other shaft to thedrive shaft for operation therewith to rotate the rollers on said othershaft at a higher rate of speed than the speed of rotation of therollers on the drive shaft to effect rapid withdrawal of a sheet or thelike moved to the rollers on the other shaft by said feed roller.

20. In combination with a printing machine including an intermittentlyoperated printing mechanism, a device for feeding sheets to the printingmechanism and including a drive shaft and a feed roller mounted on theshaft, means controlled by the printing mechanism for intermittentlyconnecting theroller to the shaft, said device including another shaft,means for withdrawing sheets after operation thereon by the printingmechanism and including an operable member, means for operating theoperable member from the other shaft, and means controlled by theoperation of the feed roller for controlling the operation of thewithdrawing means.

21. In combination with a printing machine including an intermittentlyoperated printing mechanism, a device for feeding sheets to the printingmechanism and including a drive shaft and a feed roller mounted on theshaft, means controlled by the printing mechanism for intermittentlyconnecting the roller to the shaft. said device including another shaft,means for rithprinting mechanism and including an op. rable member,means for operating the operable member from the other shaft, a cam onsaid drive shaft, means connecting said cam to said feed roller, andmeans operated by said cam for controlling the operation of saidwithdrawing means;

22. In combination with a printing machine including an intermittentlyoperated printing mechanism, a device for feeding sheets tothe printingmechanism and including a drive shaft and a feed roller mounted on theshaft, means controlled by the printing mechanism for intermittentlyconnecting the roller to the shaft, said device including another shaft,means for withdrawing sheets after operation thereon by the printingmechanism and including an operable member, means for operating theoperable member from the other shaft, a cam on said drive shaft, acollar fast on said'drive shaft intermediate said cam and said feedroller, means independent of said collar and connecting said cam to saidfeed roller, and means operated by said cam for controlling theoperation of said withdrawing means.

23. In combination with a printing machine including an intermittentlyoperated printing mechanism, a device including means for feeding sheetsinto said machine and means for withdrawing sheets from the machineafter receiving an impression from said printing mechanism, the meansfor withdrawing said work including a pivotally mounted shaft having asheet engaging roller thereon and including an arm, and means operatedwith the sheet feeding means and engageable with said arm to move saidroller to and from sheet engagin position.

ElimETI C. HARTLEY.

